The first patient to undergo a genetically modified pig kidney transplant died just two months after the procedure.
Richard Slayman, 62, of Boston, was living with end-stage kidney disease when he received a pig kidney that had undergone 69 genomic edits. According to experts, this would herald a new era in organ transplantation.
Sadly, Mr Slayman sadly died on Saturday after doctors said he was ‘recovering well’ when he was discharged from hospital on April 6.
There is currently no indication from anyone involved in the procedure or from Mr. Slayman’s family that his death was related to the transplant.
Richard Slayman, 62, the first patient ever to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig, has died just two months after the procedure
The four-hour surgery was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston
The four-hour surgery was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston under the compassionate use approval of the Expanded Access Protocol, which is only implemented when patients with life-threatening illnesses have no other options.
Mr. Slayman had struggled with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for years before finally being diagnosed with end-stage renal disease.
He underwent dialysis treatment in 2011 and was eventually placed on the kidney donor waiting list. In December 2018, he received a human kidney transplant.
Five years later, the donor kidney began to fail and in May 2023, Mr Slayman was put on dialysis again.
He subsequently required decoagulation and surgical revision every two weeks to address clotting complications during this second round of dialysis.
It was because of these persistent complications and Mr. Slayman’s rapidly failing kidney function that his doctors suggested he try a pig kidney transplant.
He feared organ rejection just as he was getting ready to leave the hospital after the transplant, but doctors were able to address it quickly because it was a common form of rejection.
The doctors make an incision in the thigh bone and use instruments to dig a tunnel to the area where the kidney is located.
At the time, Leonardo Riella, medical director of kidney transplantation at MGH, said: ‘I would rather have a rejection very early and have it treated and adjusted, rather than see it much later where it could go unnoticed for a few weeks. it may be too late.
‘It’s a bit like wildfire; you want to put it out quickly before it gets out of hand.”
The rejection and the kidney stabilized after three days on a high dose of steroids and Mr Slayman was discharged from hospital.
On his release, Mr Slayman said: ‘This moment – leaving hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time – is one I’ve wished would come for years.
“Now it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.”
In the months following the operation, he underwent blood and urine tests three times a week and visits from his doctor twice a week to monitor his condition.
At the time, Mr. Slayman said, “I have been a patient at Mass General Transplant Center for 11 years and have the utmost confidence in the physicians, nurses and clinical staff who have cared for me.
“When my transplanted kidney began to fail in 2023, I once again relied on my care team at MGH to achieve my goals of not only improving my quality of life, but also prolonging it.
“I saw it not only as a way to help me, but also as a way to offer hope to the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.”
Dr. Winfred Williams, deputy chief of nephrology at MGH, provided insight at the time into why Mr. Slayman was suggested for the experimental treatment: “He would have had to wait five to six years for a human kidney. He couldn’t have survived.’
There are more than 100,000 patients on the waiting list for a new kidney in the US, with most facing delays of at least three years.
Joren C. Madsen, director of the MGH Transplant Center, emphasized the importance of Mr. Slayman’s contribution to medicine.
He said: ‘[The surgery] would not have been possible without his courage and willingness to take a journey into unknown medical history.
‘Mr. Slayman will become a beacon of hope for countless people suffering from end-stage kidney disease and opens a new frontier in organ transplantation.”
